PLAYWRIGHT HUGH Leonard died yesterday in hospital at the age of 82; he had been seriously ill for the past month. Known to his friends as “Jack”, he was born John Keyes Byrne in 1926. He was raised by adoptive parents in Dalkey, Co Dublin, and after school worked at the Land Commission, where he was active in the dramatic society.
When the Abbey Theatre rejected his play The Italian Roadin 1954, he took the name of its hero and submitted another play, The Big Birthday, which the Abbey staged in 1956. Since then, Leonard has been a prolific writer of plays, essays, journalism and autobiography. Among his plays are A Leap in the Dark(1957), The Poker Session(1964), Mick and Mick(1966), The Patrick Pearse Motel(1971), The Au Pair Man(1974) and A Life(1980). His most successful play, Da(1973), ran for 20 months and 697 performances on Broadway, earning him a Tony Award; it was made into a film in 1988, starring Martin Sheen and Barnard Hughes.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Leonard adapted a number of classic novels for British television. Among his work for RTÉ was the 1916 commemoration series Insurrection(1966). He also adapted works by James Joyce, Flann O'Brien and John McGahern.
He published one novel, Parnell and the Englishwoman( 1992), and two volumes of autobiography, Home Before Night(1979) and Out After Dark(1989). Until 2006, he wrote a regular column, "The Curmudgeon", for the Sunday Independent, in which he often dwelt on his love of cats and his dislike of Gay Byrne.
“I had a very up-and-down relationship with him,” Gate Theatre director Michael Colgan said yesterday.
“He was quite prickly – and I’m sure I am too. But he was a master of the bon mot and a terrific raconteur.
“He was interested in all sorts of things. He was magnificent on the subject of old films and positively encyclopaedic on the canals of France.
"And though his observations were tough and often hurtful, he has said some of the funniest lines I've ever heard. He once said, of an American PR woman, that 'she never had an unspoken thought in her life' . . . I think Daand A Lifeare two plays that will last for a very long time."
Abbey Theatre director Fiach MacConghail said: "He was a prolific writer and his major plays Daand A Lifehave become classics of Irish theatre. He was literary editor of the Abbey Theatre from 1976-1977. His plays were very significant in creating for our audiences a distinctly urban experience with brilliant wit and great humanity."
Minister for Arts Martin Cullen said: “As a storyteller, he was creative and compelling. As an individual, he was honest, engaging, with a sharp wit and an inquiring mind. Ireland will truly miss its beloved ‘curmudgeon’.”
Arts Council director Mary Cloake called him “a true giant of Irish theatre, who wrote some of the most popular and enduring plays of the 20th century. The success of Da on Broadway and around the world is testimony to Leonard’s stature as a world dramatist. Beyond theatre, Hugh was a wonderfully talented writer in other media who enjoyed deserved popularity.”
The council’s head of theatre, David Parnell, added: “Jack was known throughout the theatre community for his warmth, humour and sharp intelligence. Like Donal McCann and Maureen Potter before him, who performed in Joe Dowling’s memorable production of Da in the 1990s, he will be missed by a great many of his theatre colleagues.”
Hugh Leonard is survived by his wife Kathy and daughter Danielle. He first wife, Paule, predeceased him in 2000.
His removal is tomorrow afternoon and the funeral Mass is on Monday morning.
